The Union Mills Homestead Foundation opposes the proposed high voltage electrical transmission line project known as the Maryland Piedmont Reliability Project (MPRP). The Homestead Foundation’s Board of Governors voted to oppose MPRP at a September 10, 2024 board meeting. The non-profit Homestead Foundation operates the Union Mills Homestead and Grist Mill, a historic site north of Westminster, in Carroll County. The proposed high voltage power lines through Carroll County would
Author Archives: Sam Riley
A special quilt is being raffled this year, made by Laurie Sieminski and donated to the Union Mills Homestead! The quilt is named “Autumn Stars” and measures 88 inches by 88 inches. Raffle tickets are $5 each or you can purchase 5 tickets for $20. Raffle tickets will be available in our gift shop and at our events this year. The drawing will be held at our Christkindlmarkt in November.
“Music on the Millrace” is a new Sunday concert series at the Union Mills Homestead, offered this year at the historic site north of Westminster, MD. The idea was to create a relaxed, inviting event to encourage our members and friends to come out to enjoy the authentic beauty of the site, separate from our other major events. This is a great opportunity to enjoy an afternoon on the beautiful
The Homestead Foundation has adopted a new strategic plan (linked below), outlining our vision to better engage with the public to tell our site’s history through authentic stories of family, homelife, hard work, and innovation. These stories bring insights to how our community, region, and nation have changed and grown, illustrating the entrepreneurial spirit of American families. A key conclusion from our planning process is that the Homestead Foundation needs
(Image above: Elizabeth Hughes (center right), Director of the Maryland Historical Trust, with the award recognizing the Flume Restoration at the Shriver Grist Mill. With Hughes are Kyle Dalton (left), Commissioner Kenny Kiler (second from right), and members of our State Delegation.) The Maryland Historical Trust recognized the Flume Restoration Project at the Union Mills Homestead with a Preservation Project Excellence Award for Preservation Partnerships at an award ceremony on
The Union Mills Homestead Foundation, Inc. is pleased to announce that Kyle P. Dalton has been named executive director of the Union Mills Homestead. Dalton starts work in his new position on March 27, 2023. Dalton has served as Membership and Development Coordinator at the National Museum of Civil War Medicine since April 2019 and served as Public Programs Administrator at Historic London Town and Gardens before that. He has
The Union Mills Homestead celebrated its 225th year in 2022, marking the anniversary of the site’s founding by brothers Andrew and David Shriver, Jr. in 1797. The brothers planned to combine their respective skills in a business enterprise centered on a set of water-powered mills to be built in a wide valley along Big Pipe Creek. The site was promising, strategically located between Westminster and Littlestown where Pennsylvania’s early roads
A severe storm blew through Maryland on Tuesday, July 12, 2022, causing significant damage at the Union Mills Homestead. The thunderstorm, packing violent straight-line winds, blew through the Maryland area Tuesday late afternoon/early evening causing power outages and tree damage throughout the area. At the Union Mills Homestead, numerous trees were downed and other trees were severely damaged. Assessments are underway to determine how many trees will needed to be
Union Mills celebrates its 225th anniversary in 2022, a good opportunity to reflect on the site’s rich industrial history. Founded in 1797 centered on a water-powered gristmill, the site evolved during the course of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries along with the American Industrial Revolution. (Image above: The A.K. Shriver & Sons Tannery in 1877, as depicted in the 1877 Illustrated Atlas of Carroll County, Maryland; Lake Griffing & Stevenson,
The Old-Fashioned Corn Roast Festival, an annual tradition at the Union Mills Homestead, returned this year after the 2020 event was canceled for the COVID-19 pandemic. This year’s event was particularly festive, marking the 50th time the event was held at the site. 50th Celebration a Few Years Delayed The Corn Roast is patterned after picnics and frolics held at the site in times gone by. The event dates to
(Photo above: George M. Shriver, III volunteering at the 1981 Flower & Plant Market at the Union Mills Homestead.) The Union Mills Homestead community was saddened to hear of the passing of George M. Shriver, III, who died July 24, 2021 at his home in Reisterstown, Maryland at age 88. A long-time member of the Union Mills Homestead’s Board of Governors, Shriver left a legacy of lifetime support for the
(Image Above: The Tannery Bark Shed and Drying Shed at the Union Mills Homestead) Most visitors to Union Mills know about its grist mill – it is hard to miss that big brick building when you drive into the site! As reflected in its name, the enterprise founded in 1797 by Andrew and David Shriver featured a union of two mills, a grist mill and a saw mill. Much less